The head of Germany's police union in the state of Hesse has called for a ban on violent video games in the wake of a horrific school shooting earlier this month.

Echo Online cites comments made by Heini Schmitt, head of the Hessen German Police Union (DPolG):

It is known that in every situation in which a violent rampage (Amoklauf) has occurred, the perpetrator has had a remarked addiction to so-called killergames. The manner of the deed is astonishingly similar to virtual examples.

For him, the fact that roughly a third of children and youths "regularly and addictively escape into a virtual world" sets off alarm bells. Age restrictions for such games are often ignored. There is admittedly no proof "that these frequent escapes into virtual killerworlds can contribute to such insane deeds", said Schmitt, "But neither can the role killergames be completely dismissed."

When a chance to remove a probable cause exists, it must be used, insisted the chief of the national police union. "The world would be no poorer if there were no more killergames."

Comments

I have entered the same comment several times about the apparent connection between video games and sudden mass violence.

In 2008 a video game playing temporary worker in Japan rented a two ton truck, drove it into a crowd, jumped out and stabbed seventeen killing seven. Still the problem is not the game.

It's a problem that was discovered and solved forty years ago, Subliminal Distraction. The Virginia Tech, Redlake school, Joleka school, and Atlanta Day Trader killers all created the "special circumstances" for it. Others may have also but the information is not available to me.

The Finnish National Police actually published a picture of Auvinen's computer in his bedroom showing how he created the problem. They refused this information after I contacted them through the Finnish Embassy. (That picture is on the Redlake school shooting page on my site.)

No one believes this phenomenon the first time they hear it.

I have written the two officers in charge of the shooting in Germany. If you want to help get this problem solved finally, email the headquarters of the Polizie for Peter Kraft and EG Schule about the Winnenden shooting. I will not publish the email address they sent me for my input.

THIS PROBLEM WAS SOLVED FORTY YEARS AGO.

Why should people continue to die because of a simple problem and ignorance.

I have an idea! They can collect all violent games in big piles and burn them publically. Make a rally out of it. Germany used to be good at weeding out corrupt and immoral art back in the day. It can happen again.

On the other hand, this very same union almost never says a word when democratic rights are violated - or when our over-eager minister of the interior plans to fuse police and secret agencies together. And they even showed an alarming level of sympathy when torture was debated as a means to an end!

As as German citizen I'm wondering more and more on WHICH piece of paper these policemen and their organisation are ACTUALLY sworn in. The German constitution? But of what year! 1891? 1919?

This police officer seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Yes, there is no definate "proof" that violent video games cause mass shootings, but there is still the chance that they do. I say we ban violent media for, ten years, and if there is no decrease in mass shootings then I guess all of us nay-sayers were wrong.

It is known that in every situation in which a violent rampage (Amoklauf) has occurred, the perpetrator has had a remarked addiction to so-called killergames. The manner of the deed is astonishingly similar to virtual examples.

Actually there is nothing that in all of them is consistant, Video games are blamed far less than guys like this would make out.

(I was thinking initially all the shooters were male but then I remembered I don't like Mondays from the Boomtown rats about the shootings at Cleveland Elementary School by a 16 year old girl)

He probably meant "every situation in which a violent rampage (Amoklauf) has occurred" that he is aware of, which probably translates to "all major German shootings of the last ten years". Gotta love drawing conclusions based on a sample size of three.

This is not at all acceptable. We are free to do whatever we want. However perception may differ to analyze the particular confrontation in unusual way. This is not the mode to solve problems. They should assume some other method to get relieve of this circumstances. Video games are the prior resource of amusement for the generation so, to blame on games is not appropriate

I can see from just reading from his words that he is so uptight on emotion and is not able to listen to anybody who is resonable.

Yes, he admitted that there was no scientific proff, but yet he contradicts his statement by trying to focus the issue on violent videogames.

Maybe because if he would have at least talked some sence, then maybe the mainstreem media would have just ignored him.

Is it any wonder why it is that the people who talk the most sence happen to be the people using their bloggs and books instead of the mainstreem news media?

Maybe it is because the mainstreem news media is more likely to focus mainly on the exagerated claims and the comments that cause the most newsworthy coverage rather than someone who happens to understand more about what the real issues are.

This guy tries to talk some sence, but yet he is too fulled up on negative emotion that he can't control himself by contradicting his own words.

Maybe it is because the mainstreem news media is more likely to focus mainly on the exagerated claims and the comments that cause the most newsworthy coverage rather than someone who happens to understand more about what the real issues are.

You're either very naive or very young. This has been happening for a long while. The only difference is that internet allows people to access multiple sources to compare and contrast and make a better educated opinion on the matter than simply believing everything on the "news".

Isn't the idea that a hooby enjoyed by millions of law-abdiding citizens causing people to commit crimes an extraordinary claim and doesn't it thus require extraordinary proof?

Oh no that would require real work.

Sad part is is that if they do succeed in banning it it will continue to be their scapegoat of choice.----------------------------------------------------

Debates are like merry go rounds. Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.

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Debates are like merry go rounds.
Two people take their positions then they go through the same points over and over and over again. Then when it's over they have the same positions they started in.

in a post on kotaku German gamers are starting to fight back(it came from xXNoobXx)

I'm living in Germany and I'm also pretty sick of the whole debate about video games being the cause for school shootings. Semms like everyone is going mad in my country these days. Especially the kind of politicians which do know right about nothing concerning video games but nevertheless keep demanding the ban of video games (especially 1st person shooters) suck pretty bad. Right now gamers here are trying to fight back:

We have elections this year, so the threat not to vote for politicians which support a video game ban should prove to be very effective.

Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights

America has just became its own version of the Jerry Springer Show after a bizarre moment in Florida involving a carnival worker.

It's not the Jews I'm thinking about, it's those big piles of burning books that were 'dangerous'.

It all starts somewhere, and as a European citizen, whilst I have massive respect for the Germans and their prowess at almost anything technical, I still get very nervous when powerful people in Germany start talking about 'getting rid' of unsuitable media. Whilst, in truth, there's no difference between German politicians doing it and any other politicians, there's a particular history there that will make Europeans nervous.

Any speech that involves the concept of 'If we could only get rid of X then the world would be a better place' is usually walking a dangerous road, and it's one that Germany, of all nations, should be aware of the dangers of.

Edit: And no, I don't think this represents the re-emergence of Reichland thinking or anything of the sort, the German public themselves would resist that, I feel, to the limits of their ability, but the simple fact the concept of controlling media is re-emerging is enough to scare.

There is admittedly no proof "that these frequent escapes into virtual killerworlds can contribute to such insane deeds", said Schmitt, "But neither can the role killergames be completely dismissed."

When a chance to remove a probable cause exists

And that is where I stop reading. Just because the POSSIBILITY can't be dismissed doesn't make it a "probable cause."---I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.

---I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.

That actually makes it worse. He knows that there is no definitive link here. He's just pushing his agenda. And the fact that his philosophy includes banning anything that might even have the potential to cause harm is worrying. What I got from this is that he is an anti-game, anti freedom of speech douchebag, that he freely admits this, and that he just doesn't give a shit.

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Believe in something! Even if it's wrong, believe in it! -Glenn Beck

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Believe in something! Even if it's wrong, believe in it!
GET OFF MY PHONE!
-Glenn Beck

And yes, I know it sounds a bit sharp, but this is genuinely worrying, there are frightening echoes in that speech, whilst I'll admit, it's hardly the fever pitch type reactions on 1938, there's a certain resonance with comments made about Judaism by Himmler, all he needs to do now is say something like 'You may think there are some 'good' adult games out there, ones that are moderately harmless, but in truth they are all dangerous!' and the similarity would be terrifying...

Even if there were a causal connection: If everything that could possibly cause violence would be banned, there would be no more democracy or freedom of speech. Also, there would still be violence. It's in our nature.

Oh, and 'roughly a third of children and youths "regularly and addictively escape into a virtual world" '? Yeah, they also did that when YOU were young. Was a thing called movies. Oh, and books. Comics. Theater. Music. Entertainment. Fantasy. Imagination.

Interestingly, they were the first to ban it in government buildings, reveal the health consequences of tobacco use (especially for pregnant women), and launch an aggressive anti-smoking campaign -- all long before other western nations really took note of the issue. Unfortunately, the man who spearheaded this effort was a certain Mr. Adolf Hitler, so after the war, pretty much everything associated with him was scrapped and vilified. Thus, I don't think it's entirely fair to blame the German people for being behind in this regard.

That being said, they still haven't quite got the hang of free speech, so... they do have some catching up to do.

If only I could talk to these kinds of people. But I highly doubt that they can all be reasoned with. Most of them will utter phrases like these, no matter what. To be honest, this does make me angry, because I play these games all the time, but I have voted, engage in countless debates and discussions about politics, helping out where I can.

Did the killer eat a sandwich in the days before his murder spree? I'm guessing the answer is yes. In fact I'll go further - I'll bet almost every serial killer and maniac has eaten sandwiches on many occasions - I'll bet many would seem to be sandwich addicts! There is no proof that eating sandwiches can contribute to such insane deeds, but neither can the role of sandwiches be completely dismissed.

Did the killer take a shower or a bath in the days before his murder spree? I'm guessing the answer is yes. In fact I'll go further - I'll bet almost every serial killer and maniac has taken showers or a bath on many occasions - I'll bet many would seem to be cleanliness addicts! There is no proof that keeping oneself clean can contribute to such insane deeds, but neither can the role of cleanliness be completely dismissed.

It's because of the fact that a child did the shooting that the government is overreacting. If it was an older individual, the government would blame the mental state of the shooter. But no, children aren't born wrong in the head, video games MAKE them that way!

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ZippyDSMlee: .....win8 hates any left over hidden install partitions from other version of windows....only waste 5 hours finding that out...its ahrder than you think keeping up with 4 or 5 HDDS......03/03/2015 - 4:44am

Matthew Wilson: I am going to pax east, any games you guys want me to check out?03/02/2015 - 11:23pm

ZippyDSMlee: No one remembers the days of Cinemagic and Cynergy eh? :P, meh even MGS is getting to film like....03/02/2015 - 8:44pm

MechaTama31: I was about to get all defensive about liking Metal Gear Solid, but then I saw that he was talking about "cinematic" as a euphemism for "crappy framerate".03/02/2015 - 8:29pm

prh99: Just replace cinematic with the appropriate synonym for poo and you'll have gist of any press release.03/02/2015 - 5:34pm

Monte: Though from a business side, i would agree with the article. While it would be smarter for developers to slow down, you can't expect EA, Activision or ubisoft to do something like that. Nintnedo's gotta get the third party back.02/28/2015 - 4:36pm

Monte: Though it does also help that nintendo's more colorful style is a lot less reliant on graphics than more realistic games. Wind Waker is over 10 years old and still looks good for its age.02/28/2015 - 4:33pm

Monte: With the Wii, nintnedo had the right idea. Hold back on shiny graphics and focus on the gameplay experience. Unfortunatly everyone else keeps pushing for newer graphics and it matters less and less each generation. I can barely notice the difference02/28/2015 - 4:29pm

Monte: ON third party developers; i kinda think they should slow down to nintendo's pace. They bemoan the rising costs of AAA gaming, but then constantly push for the best graphics which is makes up a lot of those costs. Be easier to afford if they held back02/28/2015 - 4:27pm

Matthew Wilson: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/02/28/the-world-is-nintendos-if-only-theyd-take-it/ I think this is a interesting op-ed, but yeah it kind of is stating the obvious.02/28/2015 - 2:52pm